Master of the Hoard - Chapter 25 (Patreon)

I repressed a shudder. I knew I would have to get used to it, but goddamn, Crawls were ugly. I was surrounded by the assembled group in their Habitat and everybody was waiting on my word. Waiting and just staring. With those ugly beady eyes and their arms sticking slightly out from those disgusting forms they called bodies.

I forced down my distaste and addressed Erk. "Have you had a chance to rest?"

He bowed deep. "Yes, Onyx. Thank you for your patience. We are ready to work."

I shook my head. I wanted to sneer at him, but he couldn't help his looks nor what he expected from me. "You misunderstand. You will not need to start working until tomorrow. Today, I wanted to take some time to learn about you, teach you how my domain works and how we avoid any... accidents."

"We will obey."

"Yeah. That's probably the first part - and it may take a while. I certainly require you to obey, but I also want you to think. If there's something you're not happy with or something that could be improved, ask me and I will consider it."

"I don't understand." The mental message was prompt and without any nuance.

Hrm. Maybe they were limited in their mental capacities. "You work for me. In return I take care of you. You're not slaves."

"I don't understand."

I almost growled, but restrained myself. "Okay. Just - tell me if you need something."

"Yes, Onyx."

I was already second-guessing my decision to have them join us. If only I felt he was trying to trick me by appearing dumber than he was, that I could work with. Yet his every thought and feeling came through crystal clear. It looked like his mental skills were extremely low. I checked him out with my Inspect skill. Heh - yeah.

Personal Info:

Name: Erk

Race: Crawl. Level 5 – experience towards next level:1430/6000

Size: Small

Stats and Attributes:

Health: 120/120

Mana: 30/30

Strength: 11

Toughness: 12

Agility: 7

Mental Power: 3

Mental Control: 2

His Strength and Toughness weren't too shabby, but those mental attributes. Were they somehow linked to his intelligence? Would they become wiser if I forced them to train in the Sorcery Chamber? Questions for tomorrow. I scratched a scale that had been itching for a while. How best to approach this, then? "Tell me about your species. What do you do well? What are your weaknesses?"

"We work well. Work hard. Good at lifting, fighting. Enjoy fighting." He looked like the mental effort hurt him, concentration oozing off of him. "Our weaknesses are bigger enemies. Dragons. And fast ones, like Talpi. Don't like Talpi." His frown turned into a smile. "We kill Talpi for Onyx? We are tougher than Talpi. Better slaves."

The growl escaped me before I could stop myself and he shrank back. "There's no attacking the Talpi. They can't attack you either. If they attack you or mistreat you, you tell me. You will work together." For a moment, I was lost for words. How could I get through to him? Maybe I would just have to let time and action do the job. "Is there anything else but fighting and lifting that you do well? Something you do for yourself?”

The thickset figure seemed ill at ease. He moved his weight from one leg to the other and back, body jiggling with the movement. Once the thought of Baron Harkonnen entered my mind, I found it hard to hide away again. Eventually, he spoke. "Making more Crawls is fun."

I couldn’t help the shudder that racked my body. I did not need that mental image. “Thank you. You make sure you do that in your spare time – inside your own room.”

Erk nodded.

In truth, I had my doubts if he understood me, but I relented. "Good. I will finish your Habitat now. Is there anything I need to know about your diet?"

He looked around at their room in confusion. "Diet?"

Oh. My. God. "What do you eat?"

"Food. We kill or gather. Food."

I almost screamed. They had better work hard or I'd have to give in and slaughter them all. I didn't even know if that was the dragon speaking or me. In truth, I was used to wilful stupidity and knew how to handle it. Actual low intelligence? Not so much. Fuming, I ignored him and  selected Habitat, watching as the gray haze of the construction settled over their room. "Erk. You will all have the day off for today. Relax. Tomorrow, you will start working."

He nodded and just stared at me with a blank look. There was probably a lot of other information I should've gathered but... I just turned and left.